Cannes 2013: Twitch Says Au Revoir with All Our Reviews and Top Picks

It's always a melancholy feeling saying farewell to another year of the Cannes Film Festival wraps up for another year. It was a particularly excellent year for films on the Croisette and you'll be reading plenty more about them as they continue to make their way across the pond. Brian Clark and I tried to keep things locked down on the review front. We've got links to all our reviews, previews, and news features for you here. Scroll down from there to get our top picks from the festival and some further thouhts. Enjoy!

What was your overall favorite film of the fest?
Brian: Claire Denis' The Bastards has stuck with me the most -- a gorgeous, bleak, nasty piece of genre work.
Ryland: Call it divisive, call it dull, call it self-indulgent... I don't care. Refn's Only God Forgives was the best movie I saw at Cannes and now tops my list for year's best.

What was your favorite film in the main competition?
Brian: The Past was great, and not only showed that Asghar Farhadi does drama better than almost anyone, but also that he's growing as a visual filmmaker.

What was your favorite film NOT in the main competition?
Ryland: Not only was it the most interesting film of the festival, but Jodorowsky's Dune was also the funniest film I saw at Cannes.

What film are you most disappointed you missed?
Brian: I skipped Blue is the Warmest Color because of the runtime and some screening conflicts, but then everyone told me that a) it was an amazing film and b) it was extremely sexy. Whoops!
Ryland: Erik Matti's On The Job didn't screen until the day I left so I was super bummed to miss it. Luckily we just learned Well Go will be putting it out in the States!

What film surprised you the most? (Either good or bad)
Brian: Based on James Gray's other work, I expected to be riveted by The Immigrant. Instead it made me sleepy.
Ryland: When I spotted a 3-hour French lesbian drama on the program I thought there was no way I would sit through Blue is the Warmest Color (aka La vie D'Adele). A bit of early buzz and some good screening schedule luck and the film became my second favorite film of the fest and went on to (deservedly) win the Palme d'Or.

Who gave the most stunning performance?
Brian: So many good performances, but I think the most memorable for me was Macon Blair in Blue Ruin, who was a big part of why the film was able to stand head and shoulders above most other ho-hum revenge stories.
Ryland: How can I not choose Adele Exarchopoulos for her unbelievably tender turn in Blue is the Warmest Color?

What was your favorite non-film moment of the fest?
Brian: I did a debate on Radio-Television-Swiss, in French, with critic Rafael Wolf and Les Caheirs du Cinema critic Charlotte Garson. I was terrified because of my subpar French, but everyone at least pretended to understand what I said... though I'm sure my grammar was at the level of a first grader.
Ryland: The band of American online critics at Cannes is a small one - and rather merry one at that. It was great to have good friends there to battle the numerous line frustrations with together (both cinematic and alcoholic).

Any last thoughts on Cannes 2013?
Brian: Special shout-out to Borgman, which was not only a lot of fun, but also had the best title of any film at the festival. Now waiting for the sequel, Borgmania.
Ryland: Even though I loved Blue is the Warmest Color, we all know Steve was obviously Borgmaned out of his first choice. Let's face it, they shoulda gone Borgman.

"Ryland: Call it divisive, call it dull, call it self-indulgent... I don't care. Refn's Only God Forgives was the best movie I saw at Cannes and now tops my list for year's best."

I like some of Nicolas Winding Refns work, this looks so entertaining.

"Brian: I skipped Blue is the Warmest Color because of the runtime and some screening conflicts, but then everyone told me that a) it was an amazing film and b) it was extremely sexy. Whoops!"

Well.....you can´t win all the time, Mr Clark.

"Brian: Based on James Gray's other work, I expected to be riveted by The Immigrant. Instead it made me sleepy."

Really?

Well, I´m hoping I get to see it, I think it sounds interesting.

"Brian: I did a debate on Radio-Television-Swiss, in French, with critic Rafael Wolf and Les Caheirs du Cinema critic Charlotte Garson. I was terrified because of my subpar French, but everyone at least pretended to understand what I said... though I'm sure my grammar was at the level of a first grader."Oh man......between a rock and a hard place.....well, you did your best Mr Clark.Thanks Mr Clark & M Aldrich.

Netflix is constantly growing in Latin America, and while in Mexico the catalog is still nowhere as big as the North American one, several hotly anticipated TV series, such as Better Call Saul and House of Cards, are greatly helping in order to have more Mexican users. Now Netflix has...
More »

Socrates said, "Know thyself." A more contemporary philosopher from Oklahoma offered, "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." Reading many business stories about Hollywood lately, it quickly becomes apparent that few have embraced either the Athenian master or the fine, folksy wisdom of Will Rogers. How else to...
More »

Hollywood's annual pageant of nice dresses and the complex madness of John Travolta went off pretty much as expected - a few less for American Sniper than perhaps I cynically expected, and a few more for Birdman, which ain't Boyhood, but is an off-model enough Best Picture that I can't...
More »

Film Comment Selects, Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual film series that showcases the best films from all corners of the world selected by folks at Film Comment magazine, marks the arrival of spring for New York cinephiles in an otherwise dreadful February/March movie season. This year's selections are as...
More »

"Documentary Fortnight: MoMA's International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media," which screens at the Museum of Modern Art through February 27, once again brings an impressive array of new films, retrospectives, and installations to New York audiences. Two masters of documentary, Stanley Nelson and Barbara Kopple, open and close the...
More »